


Caught in the darkness (Can you help me find my way out?)

by Mazelike



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Anger Management, Domestic Fluff, Full Moon, Full Shift Werewolves, Liam is a bit of a mess, M/M, Slice of Life, Theo is a good boyfriend, University Student Liam
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-02
Updated: 2017-10-02
Packaged: 2019-01-08 07:45:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,840
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12250044
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mazelike/pseuds/Mazelike
Summary: “I thought you said you were going to be fine,” Theo said, half teasing, half concerned.“I am! I mean, I was!” Liam argued. “I mean, until -”“Until you started getting so pissed off I smelled it in my sleep and turned back 'cause I thought you were going to kill someone?”Liam is (more than) stressed out, but Theo might just know how to make everything better.





	Caught in the darkness (Can you help me find my way out?)

**Author's Note:**

> I ship these two so much, and I just couldn't help myself. So, here is some pointless domestic aged-up Thiam.  
> I can't garantee this is any good, but I hope some of you find it enjoyable.  
> (Also, it's unbeta-d. I proofread the whole thing as much as I could, but I'm saddly no native speaker so... I apologize for any mistake. Also, I'm really nervous about posting this for some reason, so... I apologize if this OS sucks! It probably does - argh, what am I doing?)
> 
> Title from Shadows, by Red <3

_Home_ , Liam thought the second he picked up the sound of Theo's heartbeat.

He had dreamt about coming back home all day long, as embarassing as it was to admit. His day had been  _shitty_ , and he had to present his thesis in front of a jury the next day. He felt like he wasn't ready at all. He'd just have to go through his notes again tonight, because he  _needed_  to nail this.

Liam was as stressed as he had ever been – even when they had had to fight off the Beast, or when they had been under the threat of the wild hunt, damn, even Monroe's hunters, who were still sometimes going after them, had never stressed him out that much.

Liam let the door of the building fall shut behind him, unaffected by the violent noise it made. He took the stairs – he always did, he wasn't really a fan of evelators anymore – and the next thing he knew, he was hit with the familiar scent of  _home_. Immediately, his head cleared a bit, and Liam let his backpack slide down his shoulder and hit the ground.

Still a bit trembling, Liam decided to not waste any time and get himself ready for a new night of intense studying. He took his shoes and coat off, disposing of them carelessy and slipped behind the counter that delimited the kitchen and the living room. He opened the fridge to grab a few cans of coke. He would  _definitely_  need some caffeine.

It wasn't until the light of the fridge turned off as he closed its door that Liam noticed the absence of lightning in the appartment. It was already dark outside, yet except for a small lamp near the couch, no light had been turned on. Liam frowned and put the cans on the counter. He kept one and cracked it open, drinking a large mouthfull of the sugary drink.

“Theo?”

Not expecting an answer, Liam opened a cupboard, looking through it to find something to munch on as he worked – a bad habbit he had picked up when he had first started university. By the time he looked back again, Theo was there, walking in.

The sight of Theo calmed Liam down more effectively than anything else. His b felt like finally, he could breathe, and the sensation that everything was going to come crashing down this very instant disappeared. His messy and infuriating train of thoughts stopped, too, and the shaking, the blood boiling in his veins, the need to growl his frustration, everything he had felt that day was forgotten in an instant.

Liam couldn't remember exactly when he had started to feel like Theo was home to him – it had been a slow process, involving a lot of learning on both parts, but eventually, throughout everything that had ever happened to them, they had come to realise that they couldn't bear to be apart anymore. Years later, Theo sure was Liam's home.

Theo went to couch and let his body fall on it ungraciously, making a little gesture with his hand to acknowledge Liam. The young man was wearing a jumper and a pair of sweatpants, his hair messily brushed back. He smelled clean, and warm, and he looked cozy.

Liam went back to where his bag lay on the floor, picking it up. He went to the counter again, took the cans he had taken out of the fridge and the snacks and brought everything with him as he moved to the couch to join Theo.

He dropped everything messily on the coffee table, startling Theo, whose eyes widened.

“How many of these do you need?” He asked in lieu of greeting, gesturing at the cans.

“That was the last one,” Liam answered sheepishly, putting his opened and last can on the table next to the others.

“Thank God,” Theo whispered so low Liam almost didn't catch it. He didn't say anything else, knowing perfectly that Theo was right: he was drinking way too much caffeine for an overly aggressive werewolf. That might explain why he -

“How was your day?”

Liam let his body fall on the couch, picking his can of coke. He ran his finger along the cold and wet metal, distracting himself.

“It was... fine,” he replied, eventually. If Theo realized he was lying, he didn't comment on it, just humed to himself and slouched in the couch a little more. Liam took another sip of his drink. “How was yours?”

“Tiring,” Theo sighed. “My head is fucking killing me,” he added, voice deep and low.

It took Liam a few seconds to process what Theo had just said, and he suddenly forgot all his problems.

“You – you have a  _headache_?”

“Yeah, and it sucks.”

“I didn't know we could have headaches,” Liam said, looking at Theo.

“Trust me, I'm the first surprised here.”

Liam sat down more comfortably on his half of the couch, resting his back against the arm rest to face Theo.

The young man looked tired, indeed, which was no surprise considering that the boys had spent the previous week-end fighting off a bunch of professional hunters.

Moreover, Theo had been working hard for the past weeks, covering more hours at work than usual. Not having anyone to pay for his rant, Theo was working a full time job in a café near Liam's campus, and spent the rest of his time making a lot of research on the supernatural, helping out Scott and the pack.

It had taken its toll on him at first, Liam knew it. Theo had had to go through a lot of his past, reminisce on old memories to remember some precious and crucial pieces of informations, and Liam, even though he couldn't even begin to imagine how tiring it might have been, had been there to help Theo through it. Bad times.

However, it was all worth it, Theo had admitted one night. He had indeed quickly become an important source of informations, and a lot of the dangers the pack had been met with would have been much more of a pain if Theo hadn't been here. It made Theo happy (even though he had never said it out loud), and Liam proud.

So of course, their little double life was exhausting sometimes, Liam was the first to admit it. He himself had trouble handling it these days, and had been grumpy during their last fight, complaining that the hunters were preventing him from studying. Theo had rolled his eyes and asked him to shut up as they figured out a way to take the hunters out without killing them.

However, if Liam complained sometimes, Theo had never once said a thing, and it was the first time he seemed to be so affected by his busy schedule...

Suddenly, Liam felt bad, because he realized he might just know why Theo was feeling off.

“So that's why the lights are off,” Liam said, instead of pushing further, lightening the mood.

Theo chuckled. “You genius.”

“Shut up,” Liam groaned. “D'you know what triggered it?”

“No idea,” Theo answered, covering his eyes with his arm. “It's been a busy week, though.”

“I guess.” Liam said, his tone soft, an apology.

Just to make sure, Liam bent over to rest his hand on Theo's forehead: the chimera's skin was warm, but not hot. He had probably exhausted himself at work and with his research – plus, Liam hadn't been sleeping so well these days, studying a lot and dreaming about failing his thesis presentation everytime he closed his eyes. He supposed it meant Theo hadn't slept much either, since he never went to bed without Liam anymore.

“Have you... tried anything?”

“Like what?” Theo replied without missing a beat, “a painkiller? We don't even have any.”

Liam extended his leg and entangled it with Theo's, who let him. Theo threw his head back, and his body relaxed.

“I was thinking like... Shifting.”

That caught Theo's attention, and Liam felt his body tense in anticipation against him.

“I haven't tried that...,” he said slowly. He lowered his arm and opened his eyes. He looked at Liam, an impressed smile forming on his face.

“You genius,” Liam parroted. “Well, what are you waiting for, then?” He asked Theo, who didn't show signs of wanting to move from his position.

Theo didn't break the eye contact, and Liam frowned, starting to fidget under his stare. Theo knew something had happened, and judging by the intensity of his gaze, he was not going to let it go.

“Are you going to be okay?”

“While you're shifting?” Liam raised a brow in mocked offense. “Yeah, of course, why wouldn't I be?”

Theo's pointed look answered his question. So he definitely knew then.

“We'll talk about that later, okay?” Liam said, and Theo smiled smugly. “Just – just shift, and rest.”

“Go take a shower, relax a bit,” Theo all but ordered.

“Alright, I'll go take a shower and order some take out then.” Liam rolled his eyes.

He got up from the couch, and put his now empty can of coke on the coffee table. He was heading for the bedroom to grab some clothes and take a shower when he was suddenly hit by a thought.

“Oh, and Theo, if you shift here, don't mark your territory.”

Theo's cocky smirk as he took off his shirt wasn't the answer Liam would have liked, but it was all his words were met with. He couldn't even help himself, and let out an amused chuckle on his way to the bathroom.

 

An hour later, there was still a coyote sleeping and  _snoring_  on the carpeted floor of the appartment, and Liam was considering waking Theo up just so that the noise would stop. The only reason he didn't was because he was worried about Theo – none of them had ever been sick, since what felt like forever.

Also, he felt really guilty: he surely was one of the reasons Theo felt sick-ish, so if Theo was asleep right now, in his wolf-form and dead to the world around him, well Liam wasn't about to deprive him of some well deserved rest. Even if it meant having to support his loud snoring.

When the food arrived, Liam answered the door quickly and quietly, but even the noise and the smell of the take out didn't make Theo stir. Liam ate on the couch, alone, his papers and notes on the coffee table in front of him. He was trying to study as much as he could, but it was hard to focus. He selfishly wished Theo could wake up, to keep him grounded, but he pushed the thought away.

He was trying hard, but all he could think about was how Thomas Andrew had tried to ridiculize him in front of their teacher, a little earlier that day, as Liam was rehearsing in front of their tutorial group. Thomas Andrew had asked Liam a question about a painting he had selected for his study, a question about something that Liam had decided to exclude from his work long ago because it was not worth focusing on for the thesis he was preparing. When he explained so, Thomas fucking Andrew had declared that it was sad that Liam's work was so biaised.

 _BIAISED_! How did the guy fucking dare?! Liam had spent the past three years fighting the supernatural  _and_  still managing to find time to work on that history of art thesis thing, and now a stupid classmate was trying to discredit his whole work just with a single remark?!

Liam should have replied something smart, should have said that art was often biaised anyway, even more since a lot of paitings were still kind of opened to interpretation.

The thing was, Liam had completely lost his temper back there. He had found himself unable to do more than stand there, feeling his head get fuzzy with anger. He had felt his heartbeat rise, his body burn, and had stormed off of the room before everyone could realize that his eyes had turned yellow. Even locked up in a storage room, Liam could still hear Thomas talking, bringing the attention back to himself and comparing his own work to Liam's.

Liam had wanted to rip his head off.

A hand on his wrist brought him back to reality. Liam looked up from his notes, now scattered and crumpled on the coffee table, and met Theo's eyes.

“You should breathe,” Theo suggested, “you've been choking on a growl for at least twenty seconds now.”

Liam exhaled, realizing that Theo was right: he had let his anger consume him again. They stayed like this, Theo's hand on Liam's wrist, eyes never leaving each other, as Liam regained control of his breathing and of himself. His head stopped buzzing, and the trembling fury that had invaded his body once again slowly disappeared, leaving him a bit dizzy.

“You ate without me,” Theo said seriously, without looking away.

“Yeah...,” Liam replied. “You were sleeping, I didn't wann' wake you up.”

Theo stroked Liam's wrist, and Liam's heartbeat finally went back to its normal rhythm.

“I thought you said you were going to be fine,” Theo said, half teasing, half concerned.

“I am! I mean, I was!” Liam argued. “I mean, until -”

“Until you started getting so pissed off I smelled it in my sleep and turned back 'cause I thought you were going to kill someone?”

That stopped Liam right in his tracks, and he sighed, letting the words pour out of his mouth.

“I'm sorry, I just – the stress and – that fucking idiot – I lost my cool – what do I do if it happens tomorrow – I'm not ready!”

Theo sighed, closing his hand around Liam's wrist and tugging a little. Liam moved on the edge of the couch to be closer to Theo, and let him play with his hand, watching him get his way until their fingers were entwined.

“I know you're stressed out, I get it. But it's been years since you've had trouble controlling yourself, so I need you to calm down, and talk to me about – whatever it is that is happening.”

Liam nodded, letting go of Theo's hand to run his hands down his face, partially hiding himself before he faced Theo again. The other's eyes were gentle, and he anchored himself into them, loosing himself for a second in their beauty, before his gaze trailed down Theo's lips, his neck, his collarbone, his chest, his – Liam's face reddened.

“Theo?”

“Mmmh?”

“You're naked.”

“I know.” Liam didn't add anything, just glared at Theo, who frowned, getting annoyed. “How is that a problem?”

“I can't talk to you seriously if you're naked!” Liam deadpanned.

“Can't you? We've talked naked before, and you've never been bothered.”

Liam snorted and blushed at the same time. “This has nothing to do with post-sex conversation, dumbass.”

Theo sighed and got up from the carpeted floor, where he was still sat. Liam positionned himself back on the couch, his back to the armrest and his legs crossed in front of him. He watched as Theo picked up the clothes he'd had on before he shifted, and put them back on. He put on his sweatpants first, and stretched his body, muscles ondulating and flexing, shadows playing over his soft skin. Liam couldn't tear his eyes away.

“Don't look at me like that when just just asked me to put clothes on,” Theo growled lowly, before putting his jumper back on.

“Sorry.”

“Yeah, right.”

Theo sat on the couch, and bent over to grab an untouched box of spicy meat balls Liam had left for him. He immediately began eating. Liam knew it made him really hungry to shift, his wolf/coyote metabolism needing a lot more proteins than his usual human body.

Theo pushed his messy hair back, and Liam imitated him unconsciously, running a hand in his own hair, catching a few loose strands and untying his short poneytail.

“So,” Theo said, “what happened?”

“Thomas said my thesis was biaised because I didn't focus enough on the importance of the representation of God.” There was a silence, and Theo nodded, encouraging Liam to continue. “I tried to explain, I really did, but he argued back and I – I don't know what happened, I lost control. It was so stupid, he knows I'm working on the representation of the Devil during the middle-age, why the fuck would he annoy me with God?!”

Theo snorted, and almost chocked on his meat ball.

“Shut up,” Liam went on, not missing a beat.

Theo raised his hands in surrender and took another untouched box of food from the coffee table. He dived right in, and his silence invited Liam to continue.

“It was like high school all over again, I thought I was going to punch his face through the board.”

“You didn't, though, right?” Theo reasoned, pragmatic.

“No, of course not, I didn't.” Liam pondered what he wanted to say next. “I ran away, though.”

Theo looked up from his food at that.

“Cause you were not sure you could control yourself?”

“I know I can – I just -,” Liam sighed. “It's been so long since I've lost it like that, I – Theo it took me half an hour to get back to normal. I had to dig my claws in my forearm to calm down.”

Liam lowered his eyes and looked at his hands, playing nervously with his fingers. He was ashamed. Ashamed to admit that he hadn't been sure he was strong enough to resist the tentation, ashamed that he had lost control, ashamed to realize that he hadn't grown up at all, that he was still a kid, unable to control his anger and worst,  _unwilling_  to do so.

“I smelled it on you, when you came home,” Theo admitted, breaking the silence. Liam looked back up.

“Of course you did...”

“You're mad at yourself.”

Liam didn't respond verbally, but he felt his body relax in the couch, as if a weight had been lifted from his shoulders. He knew Theo would get it, get  _him_. Theo put the empty box of food on the table, and looked back at Liam.

“You know that the full moon is tomorrow, right? And that you're presenting your thesis tomorrow, on the full moon?”

Liam's eyes widened in realization.

“We've spent the weekend being attacked by hunters, and you're presenting your thesis tomorrow, on the full moon. That's a lot, Liam, and if I were you, I probably would've wanted to slash the kid's throat too.”

“I – I had forgotten,” Liam whispered. “How come it's affecting me, it's been years?!”

Liam put his head in his hands and groaned.

“Because you have a lot on your mind.” Liam nodded at that, taking in Theo's words. “It's emplifying your stress and your anger, and that happens, okay?” Liam nodded again. “It's just a bad combination of factors.”

“Just a bad combination...” Liam repeated, looking back up. “You think that's why I've been such a mess this week?”

“Well, the nerves had a lot to do with that, but yeah, the full moon is definitly not helping.”

“Thank God,” Liam said, “I'm not loosing it again.”

Theo shook his head, and Liam felt the need to hug Theo, so that's what he did. He got closer and Theo got the hint, welcoming him in his arms. They pressed their body together, and their arms came to stroke the other's back softly.

“Fuck, I can't believe I've let myself be this overwhelmed...,” Liam muttered. “I'm sorry.”

“Don't apologize,” Theo replied, breaking the hug slowly. “This thesis is important to you, and I know it's been hard for you to find time for everything.”

Liam nodded, and Theo added:

“I can't really blame you for letting things get out of hands, remember when I was working on the Dread Doctors notes and I decided to shift on the full moon?” Liam started laughing. “Hey, don't laugh at me, you ungrateful bastard, I'm trying to make you feel better!”

Liam laughed harder, and Theo smiled.

“You didn't kill anyone, and you controlled yourself. That's good. Once your presentation's over, full moon or not, you'll feel better.”

“Yeah, you're right.”

“I know,” Theo replied easily, grabbing some more food. He wolfed it down in almost one go, and Liam chuckled.

“You'd think that after being against supernatural creatures and fighting the hunters off every day, a simple presentation wouldn't panick you so much, yet here we are,” Theo teased.

“Yeah, right, shut up,” Liam said, a smile spreading on his face.

“Okay, so do you wann' go over your notes again?” Theo offered, putting the food down.

“Thank you.” Liam nodded and straightened his back.

Theo took a bunch of notes from the coffee table. He made a few weird facesas his eyes scanned the notes, and Liam watched him with interest. Liam presented his thesis and the work he had done for the past two years, summing most of it up for Theo's sake.

Not even ten minutes later, they were bickering about Liam's notes (“I don't understand a thing you're saying”, “follow my notes”, “they're a mess”, “what? No! Fuck off, Theo!”) and it wasn't long after that until Theo complained that he was going to have another headache.

“Alright, we're done,” Liam said eventually, clapping his hands awkwardly.

“Thank God,” Theo mumbled, putting the notes back down on the table.

Liam got up, and picked up his papers, putting them back in his bag.

“Does your head hurt?” Liam asked, noticing that Theo was covering his eyes with his arm again.

“No,” Theo whispered, “but I'm really starting to get tired.”

“I'm sorry I kept you awake so much, lately.”

“I know. But you needed me, and I was glad to be here for you.”

Liam's heart did something in his chest, like it had just skipped a beat, and he felt himself smile fondly at Theo. It wasn't common for the young man to express his feelings verbally, and Liam was always taken by surprise by the care and sincerity in Theo's voice when he did so.

“Thank you,” Liam whispered. Theo yawned in answer. “Go to bed, I'll be there in a sec.”

A little bit later, Liam found Theo in their bed, eyes barely open. He slid under the warm blanket, and Theo's hand came up to meet his, resting on the matress between them, tugging weakly. Liam shuffled closer, and let Theo drap an arm around him.

“Sleep,” Theo mumbled, already half asleep himself.

Liam snorted but closed his eyes, finding Theo's hand again and pressing it in a comforting way.

“I love you,” Liam whispered a little bit later, on the edge of unconsciousness.

“Yeah, love you too. Now sleep!” Was all Theo could slur in his state.

Liam fell asleep, a smile on his face, letting Theo's familiar scent and heartbeat lull him to sleep.

 

**Author's Note:**

> Come talk to me on [Tumblr](http://newt-like.tumblr.com/) about Thiam maybe?


End file.
